The design, discovery, and use of new reactions is the general goal of our investigation. The reactions we propose to study are of immediate interest for the synthesis of chemotherapeutic agents and as models for nucleotide biosynthesis. We believe that such work will open new areas for study, provide a deeper understanding of presently known phenomena, and be of interest to fields related to chemistry. Three new reactions which would accomplish the deoxygenation of alcohols are proposed for investigation. The proposed studies of dipole stabilized cabanions should provide new intermediates for organic synthesis as well as understanding of the mechanism of the enzymatic conversion of orotic acid to the pyrimidine nucleotides. The use of both of these reactions is illustrated in a possible synthesis of camptothecin. The generation of iminium ions and the studies of the photochemistry of imines also should prove useful in the synthesis of medicinal agents. The preparation of a new functionality, the thiocarboxo group, is proposed and would be of interest as a chemical and chemotherapeutic analog of the diazo group. Heterophilic addition represents a new and recently recognized reaction which should be explored for its synthetic potential.